System and Method for Use of Carbon Emissions in Characterizing Driver Performance

ABSTRACT

A system and method for use of carbon emissions in characterizing driver performance and using such characterization to determine a profile/score associated with a particular insured. The profile/score can then be used to determine an insurance premium for the insured. In accordance with an embodiment, a driver can use a portable device equipped with a data collection and assessment environment, including one or more data collection devices that can be used to capture data and information or otherwise measure the carbon emissions associated with a vehicle. A framework (system) can receive information about the driver&#39;s driving profile, and use this information either to determine an insurance quote, or act as a broker/aggregator in inviting other insurance providers to offer an insurance quote, or usage based insurance quote (UBI).

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/740,290, filed Dec. 20, 2012; and is relatedto U.S. patent application titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE OF PATTERNRECOGNITION IN ASSESSING OR MONITORING VEHICLE STATUS OR OPERATORDRIVING BEHAVIOR”; application Ser. No. 13/679,722, filed Nov. 16, 2012,which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/578,511, filed Dec. 21, 2011; U.S. patent applicationtitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE WITH AN ACCELEROMETER TO DETERMINE AFRAME OF REFERENCE”; application Ser. No. 13/679,749, filed Nov. 16,2012, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/616,722, filed Mar. 28, 2012; and U.S. patentapplication titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING DRIVERPERFORMANCE AND USE IN DETERMINING INSURANCE COVERAGE”; application Ser.No. 13/679,771, filed Nov. 16, 2012, which claims the benefit ofpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/652,017, filedMay 25, 2012; each of which above applications are herein incorporatedby reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are generally related to telematics andrelated technologies, and are particularly related to a system andmethod for use of carbon emissions in characterizing driver performanceand its use in determining insurance coverage.

BACKGROUND

Every time a fossil fuel such as gasoline, coal or oil, is burned,combustion gases including carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide arereleased into the atmosphere as carbon emissions. A common source ofcarbon emissions, particularly in urban areas, are automobiles and othervehicles. The amount of carbon emissions a particular vehicle generatesis dependent on a variety of factors, such as the type of vehicle andits overall condition, environmental conditions, and the manner in whichthe vehicle is operated. For example, a vehicle driven at high speedsmay generate more emissions than a vehicle driven at moderate speeds.

Information about a vehicle, together with its driver, also has abearing on factors such as liability insurance. For example,heavily-used vehicles are on the road more often, which means theypotentially have more exposure to accidents. Additionally, certaindrivers may have driving habits that are considered less safe thanothers. Information about these and other factors is useful whenformulating insurance quotes for a particular vehicle or driver.

SUMMARY

Described herein is a system and method for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing driver performance and using such characterization todetermine a profile associated with a particular insured. The profilecan then be used to determine an insurance premium for the insured. Inaccordance with an embodiment, a driver can use a portable deviceequipped with a data collection and assessment environment, includingone or more data collection devices that can be used to capture data andinformation or otherwise measure the carbon emissions associated with avehicle. A framework (system) can receive information about the driver'sdriving profile, and use this information either to determine aninsurance quote, or act as a broker/aggregator in inviting otherinsurance providers to offer an insurance quote, or usage basedinsurance quote (UBI).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing driver performance and use in determining insurancecoverage, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates use of a system for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing driver performance, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates use of an insurance provider and/or broker framework,in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing driver performance and use in determining insurancecoverage, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described above, in the insurance industry, information about suchfactors as whether a driver of a vehicle observes safe driving habits isuseful when formulating insurance quotes for a particular vehicle ordriver.

To address this, described herein is a system and method for use ofcarbon emissions in characterizing driver performance and using suchcharacterization to determine a profile associated with a particularinsured. The profile can then be used to determine an insurance premiumfor the insured. In accordance with an embodiment, a driver can use aportable device equipped with a data collection and assessmentenvironment, including one or more data collection devices that can beused to capture data and information or otherwise measure the carbonemissions associated with a vehicle. A framework (system) can use thisinformation either to determine an insurance quote, or act as abroker/aggregator in inviting other insurance providers to offer aninsurance quote, or usage based insurance quote (UBI).

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing vehicle driver performance and use in determininginsurance coverage, in accordance with an embodiment.

As described above, the amount of carbon emissions a particular vehiclegenerates is dependent on a variety of factors, such as the type ofvehicle and its overall condition, environmental conditions, and themanner in which the vehicle is operated. For example, a vehicle drivenat high speeds may generate more emissions than a vehicle driven atmoderate speeds.

As shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment, a driver 100 of avehicle 101 can use a carbon emissions-based driving assessment system103, which can be provided as a portable device (e.g., a smartphone,PDA, computer, or other portable device), and which is equipped with adata collection and assessment environment 104.

In accordance with an embodiment, the assessment system can itselfinclude one or more data collection devices 106 (e.g., accelerometers,GPS, or other measurement devices) that can be used to capture data andinformation or otherwise measure vehicle actions, together with a datacollection and assessment logic 108. A pattern recognition module 118 isconfigured with one or more defined operating patterns, each of whichoperating patterns reflects either a known change in vehicle status, ora known vehicle operating or driving behavior. For example, a vehicleresponds in a physically-measurable manner to driver-based drivingactions, e.g., by the driver turning the vehicle sharply at a corner.This enables the system to associate patterns with certain drivingbehaviors.

In accordance with an embodiment, a carbon emissions assessment module123 includes information about typical carbon emissions, and can comparecurrent patterns of driving with known patterns to calculate carbonemissions for a current driver/vehicle.

The resultant information can be remotely communicated to an externalinsurance provider and/or broker framework (system) 130, which uses thereceived information in comparing the calculated carbon emissionsagainst estimated carbon emissions for similar types of vehicle, whichis indicative of the driver's driving profile, and using the results indetermining insurance quotes for the current vehicle/driver, or invitingother insurance providers to offer an insurance quote, or a usage basedinsurance quote (UBI).

In accordance with an embodiment, results from the carbon emissionsassessment module can be compared with physical emission measurements inorder to determine a precision built-in error. This enables certaintylevels to be attached to the calculated emissions, which allow aplus/minus range and a statistical treatment of the difference betweencalculated emissions and manufacturer expected emissions. In turn, thiscan be used to associate confidence intervals with driver qualityprediction scores.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system can incorporate or utilizeadditional functionality as further described in U.S. patent applicationtitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE OF PATTERN RECOGNITION IN ASSESSING ORMONITORING VEHICLE STATUS OR OPERATOR DRIVING BEHAVIOR”; applicationSer. No. 13/679,722, filed Nov. 16, 2012, which claims the benefit ofpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/578,511, filedDec. 21, 2011, herein incorporated by reference.

FIG. 2 illustrates use of a system for characterizing driverperformance, in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2,during use, a driver of a vehicle 150 can use the carbon emissions-baseddriving assessment system to calculate carbon emissions for the currentdriver/vehicle, and to communicate 151 the information to an insuranceprovider and/or broker framework for use in determining an insurancequote, or act as a broker/aggregator in inviting 156 other insuranceproviders 158 to offer an insurance quote 160.

FIG. 3 illustrates use of an insurance provider and/or broker framework,in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, an insuranceprovider and/or broker framework includes a customer interface 172 thatallows a driver to communicate their calculated carbon emissions, and aninsurance provider interface 174 that enables the insurance providerand/or broker to invite other insurance providers to offer 176 aninsurance quote personalized to the driver, based on a comparison 173 ofthe calculated carbon emissions against estimated carbon emissions forsimilar types of vehicle. The information received from the carbonemissions-based driving assessment system can be secured and/oranonymized prior to determining the driver's insurance quote, orinviting other insurance providers to offer an insurance quote.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing driver performance and use in determining insurancecoverage, in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, at step182, the system receives calculated carbon emissions provided by thecarbon emissions-based driving assessment system, at the insuranceprovider and/or broker framework. At step 184, the system comparescalculated carbon emissions against estimated carbon emissions forsimilar types of vehicle, which is indicative of the driver's drivingprofile. At step 186, the system determines and provides insurancequote(s) based on the calculated carbon emissions for thedriver/vehicle.

The present invention may be conveniently implemented using one or moreconventional general purpose or specialized digital computers ormicroprocessors programmed according to the teachings of the presentdisclosure, or a portable device (e.g., a smartphone, PDA, computer orother device), equipped with a data collection and assessmentenvironment, including one or more data collection devices (e.g.,accelerometers, GPS). Appropriate software coding can readily beprepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the presentdisclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art.

In some embodiments, the present invention includes a computer programproduct which is a non-transitory storage medium (media) havinginstructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computerto perform any of the processes of the present invention. The storagemedium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk includingfloppy disks, optical discs, DVD, CD-ROMs, microdrive, andmagneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flashmemory devices, magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (includingmolecular memory ICs), or any type of media or device suitable forstoring instructions and/or data.

The foregoing description of the present invention has been provided forthe purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical application, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with various modifications that are suited tothe particular use contemplated. For example, although the illustrationsprovided herein primarily describe embodiments using vehicles, it willbe evident that the techniques described herein can be similarly usedwith, e.g., trains, ships, airplanes, containers, or other movingequipment, and with other types of data collection devices. It isintended that the scope of the invention be defined by the followingclaims and their equivalence.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for use of carbon emissions incharacterizing vehicle driver performance and use in determininginsurance coverage comprising: a data collection and assessmentenvironment, including one or more data collection devices that can beused to capture data and information or otherwise measure vehicleactions, a data collection and assessment logic, and a carbon emissionsassessment module which includes information about typical carbonemissions, and can compare current patterns of driving with knownpatterns to calculate carbon emissions for a current driver/vehicle; andwherein the data collection and assessment environment is configured toone or both compare current patterns of driving with known patterns tocalculate carbon emissions for a current driver/vehicle, and provide theinformation to an external insurance provider or broker framework tocalculate a driver profile, for use in obtaining a usage based insurancequote (UBI) for the driver.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein resultsfrom the carbon emissions assessment module are compared with physicalemission measurements in order to determine a precision built-in error,which enables certainty levels to be attached to the calculatedemissions, and which can be used to associate confidence intervals withdriver quality prediction scores.
 3. A method for use of carbonemissions in characterizing vehicle driver performance and use indetermining insurance coverage comprising: providing a data collectionand assessment environment, including one or more data collectiondevices that can be used to capture data and information or otherwisemeasure vehicle actions, a data collection and assessment logic, and acarbon emissions assessment module which includes information abouttypical carbon emissions, and can compare current patterns of drivingwith known patterns to calculate carbon emissions for a currentdriver/vehicle; and wherein the data collection and assessmentenvironment is configured to one or both compare current patterns ofdriving with known patterns to calculate carbon emissions for a currentdriver/vehicle, and provide the information to an external insuranceprovider or broker framework to calculate a driver profile, for use inobtaining a usage based insurance quote (UBI) for the driver.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein results from the carbon emissions assessmentmodule are compared with physical emission measurements in order todetermine a precision built-in error, which enables certainty levels tobe attached to the calculated emissions, and which can be used toassociate confidence intervals with driver quality prediction scores. 5.A non-transitory computer readable medium, including instructions storedthereon which when read and executed by one or more computers cause theone or more computers to perform the steps comprising: providing a datacollection and assessment environment, including one or more datacollection devices that can be used to capture data and information orotherwise measure vehicle actions, a data collection and assessmentlogic, and a carbon emissions assessment module which includesinformation about typical carbon emissions, and can compare currentpatterns of driving with known patterns to calculate carbon emissionsfor a current driver/vehicle; and wherein the data collection andassessment environment is configured to one or both compare currentpatterns of driving with known patterns to calculate carbon emissionsfor a current driver/vehicle, and provide the information to an externalinsurance provider or broker framework to calculate a driver profile,for use in obtaining a usage based insurance quote (UBI) for the driver.